Southern California -- this just in

Cellmate suspected in death of state prison inmate, officials say

Officials at Antelope Valley State Prison said Wednesday that they are investigating the death of an inmate as a homicide and have named the victim’s cellmate as the suspect in the case.

The inmate, identified only as being a 63-year-old male, was pronounced dead about 3:30 Tuesday, according to a statement posted by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The statement says the victim was “found unresponsive” inside his cell at the prison in Lancaster.

The inmate’s cause of death was not immediately available, but officials said he was serving time for assault with a deadly weapon.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the death, said the department had not received an update on the case as of Wednesday night.

The suspect, Damian Reguera, 40, was serving time for voluntary manslaughter, the statement said.